U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy will award 219 grants totaling $34 million to 183 small businesses in 41 states. Funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, today’s selections are for Phase I research and development.

This is the first example of a novel mode of neurotransmitter-based communication and challenges current dogma about mechanisms of signaling in the brain. The findings uncover new pathways for developing therapies for disorders like epilepsy, anxiety and chronic pain.

A team of Cornell University engineers and nutritionists with funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of NIH, have designed and tested a small, portable diagnostic system that can be used in the field to test blood for vitamin A and iron deficiencies.

While humans can only broadcast about one percent of their vocal power through their speech, some animals and mammals are able to broadcast 100 percent. The secret to their long-range howls? A combination of high pitch, a wide-open mouth and a clever use of the body’s shape to direct sound – none of which are factors that humans can replicate.

Sandia National Laboratories will receive $10.5 million from the Department of Energy to research and design a cheaper and more efficient solar energy system.The work focuses on refining a specific type of utility-scale solar energy technology that uses mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver on a tower.

After a 50-year period of declining growth of the tree species prior to the Clean Air Act, a new study found that declining air pollution alongside increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and warmer spring temperatures have resulted in dramatic forest growth recovery.

North Carolina-based Hotstick USA has exclusively licensed a direct-current detector technology developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help emergency responders safely detect high voltages.

Journalists and bloggers are invited to join top scientists and practitioners as they discuss the latest nutrition research findings during Nutrition 2018, the inaugural flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. The meeting will be held June 9-12, 2018 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.